Larsson Malin, Weiss Bernard, Janson Staffan, Sundell Jan, Bornehag Carl-Gustav
Karlstad University, Health and Environmental Sciences, Sweden.
Neurotoxicology. 2009 Sep;30(5):822-31. doi: 10.1016/j.neuro.2009.01.011. Epub 2009 Feb 10.
Potential contributions of environmental chemicals and conditions to the etiology of Autism Spectrum Disorders are the subject of considerable current research and speculation. The present paper describes the results of a study undertaken as part of a larger project devoted to the connection between properties of the indoor environment and asthma and allergy in young Swedish children. The larger project, The Dampness in Buildings and Health (DBH) Study, began in the year 2000 with a questionnaire distributed to parents of all children 1-6 years of age in one Swedish county (DBH-I). A second, follow-up questionnaire (DBH-III) was distributed in 2005. The original survey collected information about the child, the family situation, practices such as smoking, allergic symptoms, type of residence, moisture-related problems, and type of flooring material, which included polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The 2005 survey, based on the same children, now 6-8 years of age, also asked if, during the intervening period, the child had been diagnosed with Autism, Asperger's syndrome, or Tourette's syndrome. From a total of 4779 eligible children, 72 (60 boys, 12 girls) were identified with parentally reported autism spectrum disorder. A random sample of 10 such families confirmed that the diagnoses had been made by medical professionals, in accordance with the Swedish system for monitoring children's health. An analysis of the associations between indoor environmental variables in 2000 as well as other background factors and the ASD diagnosis indicated five statistically significant variables: (1) maternal smoking; (2) male sex; (3) economic problems in the family; (4) condensation on windows, a proxy for low ventilation rate in the home; (5) PVC flooring, especially in the parents' bedroom. In addition, airway symptoms of wheezing and physician-diagnosed asthma in the baseline investigation (2000) were associated with ASD 5 years later. Results from the second phase of the DBH-study (DBH-II) indicate PVC flooring to be one important source of airborne phthalates indoors, and that asthma and allergy prevalence are associated with phthalate concentrations in settled dust in the children's bedroom. Because these associations are among the few linking ASD with environmental variables, they warrant further and more extensive exploration.
环境化学物质和环境条件对自闭症谱系障碍病因的潜在影响是当前大量研究和推测的主题。本文描述了一项研究的结果，该研究是一个更大项目的一部分，该项目致力于研究瑞典幼儿室内环境特性与哮喘和过敏之间的联系。这个更大的项目“建筑物潮湿与健康”（DBH）研究始于2000年，当时向瑞典一个县所有1 - 6岁儿童的家长发放了一份调查问卷（DBH - I）。2005年发放了第二份随访调查问卷（DBH - III）。最初的调查收集了有关孩子、家庭情况、吸烟等行为、过敏症状、居住类型、与潮湿相关的问题以及包括聚氯乙烯（PVC）在内的地板材料类型等信息。2005年的调查基于同样这些现在6 - 8岁的孩子，还询问在这期间孩子是否被诊断患有自闭症、阿斯伯格综合征或抽动秽语综合征。在总共4779名符合条件的儿童中，有72名（60名男孩，12名女孩）被家长报告患有自闭症谱系障碍。随机抽取10个这样的家庭进行确认，结果表明这些诊断是由医学专业人员依据瑞典儿童健康监测系统做出的。对2000年室内环境变量以及其他背景因素与自闭症谱系障碍诊断之间的关联分析显示有五个具有统计学意义的变量：（1）母亲吸烟；（2）男性；（3）家庭经济问题；（4）窗户上有冷凝水，这是家庭通风率低的一个指标；（5）PVC地板，尤其是在父母卧室。此外，基线调查（2000年）中喘息的气道症状和医生诊断的哮喘与5年后的自闭症谱系障碍有关。DBH研究第二阶段（DBH - II）的结果表明，PVC地板是室内空气中邻苯二甲酸盐的一个重要来源，并且哮喘和过敏患病率与儿童卧室沉降灰尘中的邻苯二甲酸盐浓度有关。由于这些关联是将自闭症谱系障碍与环境变量联系起来的少数关联之一，因此值得进一步更广泛地探索。
